(CNN) -- Google plans to start combining information
the company collects about each user of its various websites and
services into a single profile, the company announced on Tuesday.
Previously, Google said it did not create comprehensive profiles
across its various properties, including its leading search engine,
Android smartphone operating system and YouTube video site.
In a statement,
Alma Whitten, a Google privacy director, wrote that the changes "will
mean a simpler, more intuitive Google experience." She added, "Our
recently launched personal search feature is a good example of the cool
things Google can do when we combine information across products."
That change, called Google Search Plus Your World,
brought criticism from rivals Facebook and Twitter, which said that
Google+ content now buries their own pages in Google's search engine,
and from people who do not care to use Google's new social network.
The new privacy policy, too, has already sparked concerns voiced on social networks, including on Google's own platform.

"Google consolidating data -- gives me some cause for concern,"
Robert Mason, a professor of information technology at the University of
Washignton, wrote publicly on his Google+ profile.
A Google spokeswoman declined to comment and instead referred CNN to Whitten's statement and a brief document
posted on the company's website. The latter notes that Google does not
sell users' personal info to other companies, and that people who do not
like the changes can close their accounts.
Google uses some of the data it collects based on people's usage in order to deliver advertisements customized to individuals.

Whitten boasted in her company blog post that the single, shorter
privacy policy should appease government regulators who have called for
simplifications across the industry. Facebook made a similar claim last
year when it removed much of the legal jargon from its privacy
agreement.
Google's new privacy policy will go into effect on March 1. It
applies to everyone who is logged into a Google account while searching,
checking Gmail, watching YouTube videos or downloading apps to an
Android phone.
The company plans to send e-mails to users and post a notification on its home page about the changes, Whitten wrote.

Liveleak opposes racial slurs - if you do spot comments that fall into this category, please report them for us to review.

They seem to have no grasp on reality. People do not want personalized search results. There is nothing in this for the user, only for google and the companies they promote. People do not want to be spied on either. Nobody does. People do not want there to be profiles on them over which they have no control, with information that is sold to third parties you'll never know about. Nobody wants that. Their attempt to advertise their creepy snooping only makes them seem like aliens from another dimeMore..nsion, because their thinking just doesn't resonate with human thinking. You don't want them thinking about you AT ALL. It's just creepy, and will continue to be so until they don't do it anymore.Less..

Posted Jan-25-2012 By

wellybub

If anything, this might start pushing people away from Google products. I still think that Google has the best search engine out there. Bing and Yahoo, though, are close enough seconds that many people will use them. Of course, people would be dumb to trust Microsoft or Yahoo any more than they trust Google.

My own preference, though, is that Google doesn't try to predict what I want to see. Very often, I search for something one time, and then I have to put up with idiotic Google ads for mMore..onths after, even though I'm definitely not interested in the product. Google would do better showing me different ads, and the fact that I know why Google is showing me these particular ads actually adds to my revulsion toward them. If I know that Google is going to snoop in my Gmail and on my YouTube to push advertising at me, my solution is easy. I start using separate browsers and separate Google accounts for each different Google product I have to use, and I stop using the rest of Google's products. Bye-bye, Google.Less..

Posted Jan-25-2012 By

buzzardist

Comment of user 'dorbie' has been deleted by author (after account deletion)!

@dorbie

I agree. For some of the more difficult searches that I do, I'd still opt for Google. For 95% of the searches I do, I'd find the same result at the top whether I use Google or Bing.

I chuckled last year when Google caught out Bing stealing their results. Google intentionally inserted some nonsense search terms in their system. Type in these random letters, and Google would give links to a certain set of pages that had no connection whatsoever to the nonsense search terms. Google More..then entered those random letter combinations into Bing. Bing magically produced the same phony Google results. Bing had simply entered the term into Google's search and regurgitated the same results. That's how much quality is in Bing under the hood.Less..